Noel's Story
by SaintsBoss17
Summary: Noel finds himself going from the barren and empty end of days to it's energetic sister of the past. Adapting to life won't be easy, especially with the new friends and enemies he'll make. Caius is somewhere in here, and so is Yeul, as well as Vanille and Fang. Cocoon, floating planet in the sky, what is the story surrounding these unique characters? *Revising, refer to Bio


A/N: As stated in my Bio, I'm revising stories. This is the revision of this story's first chapter. Let me know what you think!

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><p>Final Fantasy XIII<p>

A Story from College Life

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><p>Eighteen.<p>

That's how old he was when he went to college. He chose to go to college at Eden University for a while, at least until he could solidly figure out how he should go about his life. Everyone in the streets looked at him questioningly when he walked down the streets and towards the University. Their eyes seemed to be glued to the two swords keeping his messenger bag company as well as his choice in clothes.

He entered the halls of the giant campus and paused in the middle of the highway. He hadn't really bothered paying much attention to the passerby that stopped to look at him or give him second glances. Unlike his observers, however, who were interested in his attire.

He wore shoulder-length brown hair and had blue eyes. He was wearing a black V-neck top with tribal patterns and a pair of angel wings on the back as well as a simple pendant. He had a leather bracer on his left arm, a ring on his right hand and his right arm was wrapped with cord. He wore large blue sirwal-style trousers with decorated hems, and low-cut sandal-like leather boots. A green pouch and hunter's knife are attached to his belt in the back, below his swords of course, which itself is adorned with small lavender ties made of cloth.

What the people were really focused on were the swords on his back. The larger of the two swords have two blades stylized like red flames. The other is a simple yellow-brown blade that resembled a basic sword. His two-bladed sword holds his smaller sword within the hollow metal part of the hilt. As well as the motif on his top, the silver blade in the center of his red sword also has angel wings.

He looked at his schedule then he looked around, trying to figure out where he was in a place that had to have been at least five times size of his hometown. He sighed in frustration. Between all the new buildings and the people that kept stopping and blocking his way, he knew he'd never figure out where he was. He folded his schedule and put it in his bag, then put his hands on his hips. He closed his eyes to try and focus over the loud noise of the campus. _"Guess I'm just not going to make it to History class today…"_ he thought.

Out of nowhere he felt a heavy force push against him and he, being completely in his own state of mind and oblivious to all other things, was nowhere near ready for it. He put his hands forward just in time to keep himself from face-planting into the floor, forcing pain to shoot through his palms and arms as he mad contact with the ground. The foreign weight stayed there though, forcing excess strain on his body to hold both himself and this other weight up. Eventually though, the other force rolled off and allowed him to regain his footing, quickly forcing himself up and off of the ground.

"Geez, she could learn to hit a little lighter…" said the guy now lying on his face on the ground. He was blonde with blue eyes and stubble on his face, quite resembling a five o' clock shadow. His beige trench coat, metal armband, black clothes, tan boots and blue scarf tied around his waist didn't go easily unnoticed either. The guy looked up with an embarrassed smile, rubbing the back o his neck with one of his hands, finally realizing he fell on a person and not some bags.

"Hehe… my bad. Didn't mean to go tumbling into people." The man got up and after dusting off his clothes extended his hand out to him. "Name's Snow Villiers, but everyone calls me Snow. How about you, got a name?"

"Noel. Noel Kreiss," he said as he accepted Snow's handshake. He briefly looked around and noticed that no one was around, meaning the guy he just met is probably insane. He was hoping against the odds.

"Hey, Snow," he said, "You said something about a girl hitting you hard after falling on me but how's that possible if no one's around?"

Snow rubbed the back of his neck again, giving a nervous laugh in response.

"Right… I, uh, fell from up there," he said, pointing two stories up and at the third floor. As shocked as Noel felt he should have been, he wasn't really. He knew that this guy would have the rare skill of irritating someone to the very soul. Then again, he was going off of just initial impressions… Yet that didn't explain how he fell and wasn't the least bit worried about his life.

_"I guess there are strong people in this time too... I wonder if they're capable of helping me though..."_ Noel thought to himself as he looked at the carefree man. The fact that he was the human equivalent of a behemoth stood out the most to him.

"Shouldn't you worry about her coming down here to finish you off?" Noel asked, worrying about his own safety more than Snow's, considering if snow was built like that and could take a hit as well that sends him flying and be fine, then that didn't help Noel in his pain tolerance confidence level.

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for all of them to show up. Hopefully my fiancé has calmed her down by now."

Noel was about to question Snow's sanity since he was willingly waiting for his assailants to show up, but something else in that sentence caught his attention.

"Your fiancé? In college? How…" Noel began before he heard the people Snow was talking about quickly approach them.

"Snow, thank goodness you're alright!" said a pink haired girl as she ran up to them. As she came closer to them, he could clearly make out the white button down shirt she was wearing, along with the red and black plaid skirt, complete with black leggings and more than unique tan shoes. When she hugged Snow he also couldn't look past the matching necklaces of some round shape. He'd figure out what that was later. Another startling fact was that she was tiny compared to Snow, and stood two heads lower than her.

"And thus the happy couple has been reunited, a few scratches included." Said a female voice.

Noel turned around and saw two women, one in clothing similar to his and the other looking like an older version of Snow's fiancé. The first girl had bronze skin and wavy dark brown hair with a braid behind her left ear. Her eyes were green and there was a beauty mark beneath her right eye. She also wore purple claw-shaped earrings, has scars on her right arm and shoulder, and wears blue clothing resembling a traditional Indian sari adorned with tribal accessories. In addition to the sari, she wears a short black top, black sleeves over her forearms, tan leather open-toed sandals, and two fur pelts hanging from a cord beneath the belt that holds her spear. She has a large tribal tattoo on her left arm. The second girl wore a black vest and had ripped jeans, a unique style to Noel, with knee high boots. She wore two diamond based armbands on her right arm and had a matching necklace to the second one around her sister's neck. His initial impression: they were both pretty good-looking.

The second girl gazed at Noel, quite disinterested, and crossed her arms, slightly grunting, turning her body slightly away from everyone else. The first girl, however, stared at him a moment before loudly clearing her throat, effectively gaining the attention of the two lovebirds close by.

"Hey, Snow, who's your friend?" she asked, Noel noticing an obvious foreign accent to her voice now that he paid more attention to it. He also noticed that the conversation was taking interest in him. And by the conversation, he meant the girl.

"Oh yeah," said Snow, walking back up to Noel and putting his arm around his shoulder, something that obviously made the young man uncomfortable. "This guy is Noel. Noel…" he looked toward him for assistance, realizing he'd ruin his first impression otherwise.

"Kreiss, Noel Kreiss," he finished for him.

"Yeah, that's it, and he's from… where'd you say you're from again?" Snow asked, taking over the helpless role in this conversation quite effectively.

"I didn't," was Noel's simple reply. He stepped forward, slightly away from Snow, so that he could get past twenty questions and get straight to the get-go.

"Anyway," he continued, "I'm from Gran Pulse, well, seven hundred years in the future Gran Pulse, and I have no idea how I got to this time period. Until I get sent back, I can't really do much except go to school and hunt. Which brings me to another question: Where do you people hunt?"

Everyone looked at him like he was lying, well, everyone except Fang of course. Though seeing Noel as a hunter seemed pretty accurate, the way he was dressed speaking volumes for him.

"Ah, I thought you were the new student from Pulse that I was sent to lead around campus today. I'm Fang, Oerba Yun Fang. And miss grumpy pants over there is Lightning."

"Lightning?"

"Yeah, she'll tell you her real name eventually. Not even the staff on campus know her real name. And that girl over there is Serah, Lightning's sister. Anyway, enough of the introductions, let me see your schedule."

Noel, feeling slightly inclined to do whatever this assertive, young girl wanted, handed her his schedule. While she read it he glanced around, noticing Snow and Serah wrapped in each other's arms a few feet away and Lightning staring at the two of them with unreadable emotions. She happened to catch him staring at her out of the corner of her eye and glanced in his direction. They stared in each other's eyes for a few moments, locked in a battle of will, until Fang requested his immediate attention again.

"Well whadda you know, Noel, it looks like you'll be tagging alongside Light and me every day, all year long," said Fang as she handed him back his schedule, Noel in turn putting it back in his messenger bag.

"Well, shouldn't we go off to class then, I mean, aren't we late to class already?"

"Well, check what time it is..." Fang said, not in the least bit worried about their situation.

Noel looked to the nearest wall and saw a digital clock that read "10:30."

"What's your point?" he asked, confused that she even mentioned a clock at all.

"Well, if you read your schedule correctly and viewed the class times then you would know that none of our classes start for another half-hour."

Noel audibly sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well then, lead the way Fang."

"Gladly. Guess we'll see you two lovebirds later on?"

"Count on it," said Snow as he and Serah walked off down the corridor, shortly disappearing around the corner.

"That guy, always so full of energy…" said Fang, before turning around and walking down the corridor in the opposite direction that Snow and Serah just left in.

Noel noticed Lightning stared down the corridor a moment longer than usual before she turned to follow Fang. Noel followed Lightning's example and followed Fang a split-second later. They proceeded to class with Fang leading, Lightning on her right and Noel on her left. Oddly enough for Noel, the halls were still void of any presence, monster and human alike.

"Oh yeah," Fang started, without breaking her stride, "The clothes I'm wearing… they're similar to yours right?"

"Right…" Noel answered, not sure where she was going with this.

"So if you ever get lost just look for blue and you're bound to find me. Or, if you can't do that, just look for this lovely head of pink hair," she said, referencing to Lightning and earning a well-placed glare, "because she is the only student on this whole campus with pink hair. Well, other than her sister anyway."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," he said, crossing his arms as he zoned off into his own personal thoughts. Fang and Lightning noticed this and let him be for the time being since it seemed he was able to still follow them with his eyes closed, probably from learning how to use sound to learn about his surroundings. Moments after their conversation ended, a swarm of students filled the halls and went off each and every way, showing how they too didn't wish to be late to wherever it was they were headed. Fang glanced over to Noel and noticed that while his eyes were now open, his attention would be elsewhere and he would be swept away in the crowd if this continued. So, she did the only thing she knew she could do without looking too out of place, and wrapped their arms together. Noel snapped out of his daze as soon as he felt he touch him, however, and noticed his current predicament directly after.

"Hey, what are you…"

"Oh, shut it," interrupted Fang, "you shouldn't have a problem with a pretty girl on your arm now should you? So stop acting like you've never had a girl on your arm and just continue walking."

"Right…" Noel said, knowing that while you could argue with some people, arguing with Fang would lead him nowhere.

Noel noticed the curious looks coming from the people around him, more from the girls than the guys, but he couldn't place their interest. He mentally shrugged it off as a curiosity to his current attire. After all, he did live at the end of days for a while, and learning about interactions between people of the past would be something he would have to learn as he went.

"And stop being so oblivious to everything as well," stated Fang, noticing how Noel was taking the looks being sent to him by girls they passed in the hallway as normal curiosity. "They just think you're cute is all. And they're wondering if you're single or already taken."

She looks up to Noel and smiles noticing he's slightly blushing.

"You can thank me later…" she said. Noel didn't know what she meant, but decided he'd figure it out later.

They continued winding through the hallways until they reached a floor up high in the college. Noel looked at a digital hologram of a clock on the window and noticed that they were five minutes early.

"_Well," _Noel thought, _"at least they're on time to where they have to go."_

He walked into class and sat between Fang and Lightning, in the second to last row in the class. There was no teacher for some time. Fang and Lightning however, Noel noticed, didn't seem all that bothered by their absence. In fact, they seemed happy. That didn't rub Noel the right way however, and got him thinking. He knew one of two things about this class would be true. Either the teacher was extremely strict or they gave out to much homework and expected you to know everything about the class in a few days. He audibly sighed, this was not the class that he had in mind.

"_At least there's some incentive to read up on the time period I'm in… my grade,"_ he thought. As much as it pained him to admit it, if all these people were attending this college, then it must have held something of importance, right?

"What's up?" Fang asked him. He didn't understand why until he realized he accidentally, unconsciously sighed only moments before.

"It's nothing," he said, "It's just that I was hoping that all the classes I go to today won't be like this."

"Well, that's understandable," Fang replied, "Anyone who has Mr. Dysley for history would usually say the same. Don't worry though, the first few days are the toughest because he sets his expectations of you just from the questions he asks. After that," she motioned her had like she was rubbing a counter, "its smooth sailing."

Noel smiled at the carefree, yet direct, attitude Fang had. She seemed like she was one to tackle problems head on as well, a style he liked to resort to as his favorite mode of operation. The rest he'd discover throughout the day since he was basically stuck with them, not that he was complaining. Then he thought about Lightning. He discreetly looked away from Fang and over to Lightning. He noticed how she didn't really speak unless spoken to and how she seemed like she was filling the role of silent enforcer. And then, when she did talk, it was sarcastic or short, simple, and to the point. He figured he'd learn more about her throughout the day as well. He went back to staring at nothingness, occasionally looking at the clock. One… Three… Five… Ten minutes passed and still nothing. He'd wondered that if he went hunting outside Cocoon if he'd still make it back before the teacher. Now he remembered one reason why he had always hated school.

"Hey Fang," Noel asked, turning towards her, immediately gaining her attention.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"What's your story?"

"What's my story?"

"Yeah, what's your story? I mean, I know why I'm dressed as I am but why are you dressed like that? As opposed to everyone else that around here that seem to be wearing the popular trends of Cocoon?"

She slightly smirked, an ingenious plan hatched in her head.

"I'll tell you what, if I tell you my story, you tell us yours."

"Us?" he asked. Fang motioned towards an oblivious Lightning that seemed detached from the world at the moment.

"Well, does she have a story then?"

"Not really, but she'll tell you something that you already don't know. So… do we have a deal?"

"Yeah, alright. I'm game. But we talk about me when I'm ready for it."

"Fine..." Fang replied, a bit dishearten that she couldn't get him to immediately spill everything to her that day.

Right then the teacher walked in slowly, dressed in robes that looked too symbolic for a college class. He turned his head slightly and noticed Noel out of the corner of his eye. Noel unconsciously gulped at that, waiting for the teacher to reach the front of the class. Fang however didn't wait. She leaned over and prepared to quickly whisper something in his ear.

"We'll continue this conversation at lunch," she whispered before quickly retreating from his ear and resuming to look uninterested in the class' affairs.

"Fang, if you would be ever so kind as to introduce your new friend to the class," the teacher said, giving Noel the feeling that the teacher saw everyone as an object instead of an individual. He just rubbed Noel the wrong way.

"Yeah, I've got it."

She stood up, grabbing Noel by the arm and dragging him along to the front of the room.

"This here is Noel, the newest student to the university in case you were wondering."

Noel had to nervously rub the back of his head at Fang's sudden and direct introduction of him.

"That's all well and fine Fang, but I think the class would prefer it if Noel here introduced himself."

"Right," she said, unfazed by Dysley's attempt to ridicule her.

She turned to face Noel, finding him already ready to introduce himself to the class.

"Alright, well um… my name's Noel, Noel Kreiss. I'm from Gran Pulse, the world so vastly spread under this one. I'm an excellent hunter and I have an amazing sense of direction. I'm also pretty tough when it comes to fighting..."

He finished, seemingly abruptly, and the whole room looked at him with indifference, something that took Noel completely aback. Dysley even saw him as a waste of class time, even though he only had a few minutes of it left due to his own lateness.

Noel followed Fang back to their seats and he sat once again between Lightning and Fang.

"Alright class," Dysley spoke, Noel thinking that he was trying to sound superior in every light of the sense, "Since being the Primarch of this fair world leaves me as a very busy man," _oh, that's why, _Noel thought, "Your only work for the next week is to read up on Pulse, in honor of our new student, and next week, since I'll have a bit more freedom, you'll be tested on what you're supposed to know. If any of you fail that test, I will make your lives miserable for the rest of the year. If you don't hold up to my expectations of you," he said, this time more directed at Noel, "Then consider yourself _very_ unlucky."

The bell rung and as everyone gathered whatever bags they had, Dysley said to them, "Class dismissed."

The trio left the classroom, slightly bothered by the fact that they had so much to read over the course of the week.

"Well, what do you say to us going out and getting some food? All that sitting around and listening to that guy talk had to have made you guys hungry. Lightning? Noel?"

Noel and Lightning stood in nearly identical thinking stances, each trying to decide what to do next without Fang's outside influence. Moments later they reached their decision.

"Ok, I'm game," replied Noel.

"Alright, let's go Fang," said Lightning.

"It's decided then," she said turning to walk and Lightning and Noel falling into line, "We're leaving Campus and going to get something to eat! Noel's Treat!"

Noel stood for a few seconds before he realized Fang was trying to capitalize on his wallet, which had very little money in it.

"Hey!" he said, turning towards Fang. However, he was a moment too late, seeing Fang and Lightning running away from him.

"If you're last, you pay!" he heard Fang yell as she ran around the corner, followed closely by Lightning.

_"How the hell is this fair?"_ Noel stated as he ran after them, knowing if he lost, he wouldn't be able to eat until he found a hunting job.

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><p>The more reviews, the faster this gets re-updated, which means even more updates. Just letting you know...<p> 


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